Brokerages Set Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) PT at $424.00

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $424.00.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Gordon Haskett started coverage on Casey’s General Stores in a report on Monday, November 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $451.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $435.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Casey’s General Stores from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Casey’s General Stores in a report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casey’s General Stores

In other news, insider Katrina S. Lindsey sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $427.13, for a total value of $192,208.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,761.11. The trade was a 16.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mike Spanos bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $396.76 per share, for a total transaction of $198,380.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,228,765.72. The trade was a 19.25 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casey’s General Stores

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Soros Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 1,825.6% in the 3rd quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC now owns 27,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,382,000 after buying an additional 26,197 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Casey’s General Stores by 9.9% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Casey’s General Stores during the third quarter worth approximately $23,294,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Casey’s General Stores by 3.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,046,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,305,000 after purchasing an additional 38,226 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Casey’s General Stores by 111.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares during the last quarter. 85.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casey’s General Stores Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ CASY opened at $405.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $409.21 and its 200 day moving average is $386.40. Casey’s General Stores has a 12 month low of $268.07 and a 12 month high of $439.68. The stock has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a PE ratio of 28.26 and a beta of 0.80.

Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.03 billion. Casey’s General Stores had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.24 EPS. Research analysts predict that Casey’s General Stores will post 14.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Casey’s General Stores Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Casey’s General Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.94%.

About Casey’s General Stores

Casey's General Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores under the Casey's and Casey's General Store names. Its stores offer pizza, donuts, breakfast items, and sandwiches; and tobacco and nicotine products. The company's stores provide soft drinks, energy, water, sports drinks, juices, coffee, and tea and dairy products; beer, wine, and spirits; snacks, candy, packaged bakery, and other food items; ice, ice cream, meals, and appetizers; health and beauty aids, automotive products, electronic accessories, housewares, and pet supplies; and ATM, lotto/lottery, and prepaid cards.